Celler Hasenjagd
Encyclopedia
The Celler Hasenjagd was a massacre
of concentration camp
inmates that took place in Celle, Prussian Hanover, in the last weeks of the Second World War
. Those internees of the concentration camp Salzgitter Drütte who escaped from the forced transport were pursued and beaten or shot by SS guards, Gestapo
, Nazi party officials as well as members of the public.
from several concentration camps were hit in an airstrike
. 2,862 Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Dutch and French nationals from the Drütte camp, a subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp, were forced into freight cars located at the Celle yard en route to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
. This transport had joined others the day before, making the total count around 4,000 men and women. On this transport, many internees died of exhaustion and malnutrition. The freight train carrying the internees stopped next to an ammunition train which exploded during the air raid. In the ensuing inferno, most of the wagons carrying the internees were destroyed and a number of them lost their lives. The surviving internees fled either into the town or westward towards the Neustadt wood with the SS men opening fire on them. As soon as the air raid was over, the SS guards, as well as members of the local Nazi party, Gestapo, fire-brigade and the public pursued the fleeing internees.
The internees who were caught and survived were detained on the sports ground off the Neustadt wood. Some 30 persons were executed on suspicion of looting. Most of the surviving internees were marched to Bergen-Belsen, while others were detained at the army's Heide barracks. Only 487 survivors reached Bergen-Belsen on the morning of 10 April — five days before the camp’s liberation by British and Canadian forces; the remainder either died of exhaustion or were murdered on the death marches.
liberated Celle on 12 April and launched an investigation into the events of 8 April – 11 April. Their chronicler characterized the Heidekaserne as a "microcosm of Bergen-Belsen". Estimates place the number of "hare hunt" victims at 200–300; remaining transport prisoners died of other causes.
Only 14 military and police personnel and political leaders were tried in the Celle Massacre Trial, which began in December 1947. Seven were acquitted of murder or accessory to murder because of insufficient evidence, whereas four were found guilty as perpetrators and sentenced to between four and ten years in prison. In addition, three were sentenced to death. One of the death sentences was overturned on appeal and the other two were reduced to 15–20 years imprisonment as part of a clemency issued by the British military governor. All those imprisoned were released by October 1952 for good behavior.
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
inmates that took place in Celle, Prussian Hanover, in the last weeks of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Those internees of the concentration camp Salzgitter Drütte who escaped from the forced transport were pursued and beaten or shot by SS guards, Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, Nazi party officials as well as members of the public.
Events
On 8 April 1945, a month before the unconditional surrender of Germany, transportsDeath marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
from several concentration camps were hit in an airstrike
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
. 2,862 Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Dutch and French nationals from the Drütte camp, a subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp, were forced into freight cars located at the Celle yard en route to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
. This transport had joined others the day before, making the total count around 4,000 men and women. On this transport, many internees died of exhaustion and malnutrition. The freight train carrying the internees stopped next to an ammunition train which exploded during the air raid. In the ensuing inferno, most of the wagons carrying the internees were destroyed and a number of them lost their lives. The surviving internees fled either into the town or westward towards the Neustadt wood with the SS men opening fire on them. As soon as the air raid was over, the SS guards, as well as members of the local Nazi party, Gestapo, fire-brigade and the public pursued the fleeing internees.
The internees who were caught and survived were detained on the sports ground off the Neustadt wood. Some 30 persons were executed on suspicion of looting. Most of the surviving internees were marched to Bergen-Belsen, while others were detained at the army's Heide barracks. Only 487 survivors reached Bergen-Belsen on the morning of 10 April — five days before the camp’s liberation by British and Canadian forces; the remainder either died of exhaustion or were murdered on the death marches.
Aftermath
The British armyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
liberated Celle on 12 April and launched an investigation into the events of 8 April – 11 April. Their chronicler characterized the Heidekaserne as a "microcosm of Bergen-Belsen". Estimates place the number of "hare hunt" victims at 200–300; remaining transport prisoners died of other causes.
Only 14 military and police personnel and political leaders were tried in the Celle Massacre Trial, which began in December 1947. Seven were acquitted of murder or accessory to murder because of insufficient evidence, whereas four were found guilty as perpetrators and sentenced to between four and ten years in prison. In addition, three were sentenced to death. One of the death sentences was overturned on appeal and the other two were reduced to 15–20 years imprisonment as part of a clemency issued by the British military governor. All those imprisoned were released by October 1952 for good behavior.
Further reading
- Freeman, Roger A; Crouchman, Alan; Maslen, Vic; (1990), The mighty Eighth war diary, Rev. ed, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: Arms and Armour Press, - Saft, Ulrich, (1990), Krieg in der Heimat - das bittere Ende zwischen Weser und Elbe, Langenhagen: U. Saft, ISBN 3980178900
External links
http://www.celle-im-nationalsozialismus.de/- Section in the German wiki